Top 10 of '12: No. 2 - Bay Point Invitational canceled after 28 years

Sunday

The familiar sounds of oohs and ahhs and merriment at Bay Point Marina were replaced by the quiet lapping of waves on the docks when the annual Invitational Billfish tournament was canceled this year.

The familiar sounds of oohs and ahhs and merriment at Bay Point Marina were replaced by the quiet lapping of waves on the docks when the annual Invitational Billfish tournament was canceled this year.

Bay Point Invitational officials cited many reasons for the move, including reductions in spectator parking, the proliferation of other events along the Gulf Coast and less angler participation, in calling off what would have been the 28th tournament in the Bay County area. Changes over the years, including the hindsight notion of moving to solely catch-and-release too soon, also hampered the growth of the once great showcase.

Bay Point Marina Director Steve Arndt said the decision didn’t come easily and understood the far-reaching implications. In interviews given in February, when the cancellation was announced, and during the summer Arndt didn’t discount the possibility of a return for the Invitational, but the chances are slim and it would take a major swing to produce a reincarnation.

It was the second time in three years there was no Invitational on a packed tournament schedule. The 2010 event was wiped out due to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and a spirited 2011 tournament, which included the addition of the Gulf Coast Triple Crown, failed to build enough momentum to sustain a 2012 rendition.

The Invitational was one of 19 major tournaments scheduled along the Gulf Coast last summer. Eight were scheduled before the July Invitational time frame and two were on the same weekend. The increase in options and crews being choosier due to fuel costs hurt the outlook for the Invitational.

Galati Yacht Sales and Viking Yachts, both once top sponsors, were forced to cut back participation in not only the Invitational but in other tournaments. Arndt said the lack of sponsorship money necessitated a “bare bones” approach just to be able to host a field of 40 boats. The tournament had long supported more than 70 boats in its heyday.

The remaining revenue from the event was donated to local charities, including more than $46,000 to the Anchorage Children’s Home and other local organizations in 2006. It made it to the point where tournament organizers were scrambling to pay to produce the tournament let alone have anything left to provide.

“It’s about making the numbers work, we don’t want to put on an event that loses money,” Arndt said. “We know we won’t flip the switch and have 60 boats, but if I knew I had 60 boats I’d know how much I’d have to spend.”

Changes in the infrastructure at the marina also made things cumbersome. The St. Joe Company turned over marina and tournament management to Bay Point in replacing Coastal Marina Management. The move was labeled a cost-cutting measure and the long-running tournament organizers staged a competing event in Orange Beach, Ala.

The factors against having an Invitational were too many to overcome. The news was met by sadness from local anglers. However, some, including longtime Chairman Bill Spann, weren’t surprised by the eventual decision.

“First of all, I wasn’t shocked it was canceled,” Spann said. “I’m very disappointed it was because obviously I have a great fondness for the tournament.

“They had terrible luck the last few years with weather, problems with parking and other things that happened where it wasn’t exactly the same as it had been for 25 years."

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